Demonstrators in Somersworth call for changes at Walmart

Saturday

Nov 24, 2012 at 3:15 AMNov 24, 2012 at 10:33 AM

From STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

SOMERSWORTH — As shoppers were busy snagging deals on holiday gifts Friday morning, a small group of protestors gathered at Wal-Mart in Somersworth to voice their displeasure with the company's labor practices.

Wal-Mart workers and supporters marched in protest at a number of stores nationwide Thursday and Friday, including in New Hampshire, where groups demonstrated in Manchester, Derry and Salem.

The Wal-Mart store in Somersworth was also briefly the site of a protest movement on Friday morning, dubbed Black Friday because of its impact on the sales figures of the nation's retailers.

Around the country, demonstrators blasted the wages, benefits and treatment of employees of the world's largest retailer.

However, the efforts seemed to do little to keep shoppers away — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was its best Black Friday ever.

A union-backed group called OUR Walmart has said that it held an estimated 1,000 protests in 46 states. The exact number is unclear. Walmart has refuted that estimate, saying the figure is grossly exaggerated and that the protests involved few of its own employees.

OUR Walmart, made up of current and former Wal-Mart employees, was formed in 2010 to press the company for better working conditions.

“These workers are dealing with incredibly low pay,” said Jason Stephany, a regional spokesman for OUR Walmart. “They're dealing with unsafe working conditions, and when they speak out about those situations, they have repeatedly been met with retaliation from their employer, which is illegal under federal law.”

Union officials say that the walkouts and demonstrations are to protest what it believes are Wal-Mart's retaliation tactics against workers who have been publicly speaking out about working conditions and wages. The tactics allegedly include scheduling changes and reduction in workers' hours.

Wal-Mart faced a worker walk-out in October ahead of its annual investor meeting that expanded to more than a dozen states and involved about 90 workers. Wal-Mart workers again walked off their jobs last week in Dallas, Oakland, Calif., and Seattle.

One of the largest demonstrations Friday took place in suburban Los Angeles. As many as 1,000 people took part at the height of the demonstration, including many who arrived in buses, sheriff's officials estimated.

Nine people were arrested for blocking a busy street in front of a Wal-Mart. Authorities said three of the nine people taken into custody were employees of the Paramount, Calif., Wal-Mart, which was doing a brisk business after the two-hour protest ended. Some shoppers continued to honk their car horns and wave in support of lingering protesters.

The world's largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., last week filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).

It said the demonstrations organized by union-backed OUR Walmart threatened to disrupt its business and intimidate customers and other store workers.

Meanwhile, OUR Walmart filed its own charge on Tuesday against Walmart with the labor board. It cited attempts by Walmart to deter workers from participating in the walkouts, which the group believes to be legally protected.

David Tovar, vice president for corporate communications, said in a prepared statement that the number of protests being reported at Wal-Mart stores is “grossly exaggerated.” Tovar said the company is aware of only “a few dozen” protests. Further, Tovar said at least 60 percent fewer Walmart associates missed their scheduled shifts this year compared with Black Friday last year.

“It was proven last night — and again today — that the OUR Walmart group doesn't speak for the 1.3 million Walmart associates,” Tovar said in a statement provided shortly before 3 p.m. on Friday. “We had our best Black Friday ever and OUR Walmart was unable to recruit more than a small number of associates to participate in these made for TV events. Press reports are now exposing what we have said all along — the large majority of protesters aren't even Walmart workers.”

Foster's staff writer Jim Haddadin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.